Square One
by Faux Promises
Summary: The surface world isn't as wonderful as Chell had anticipated when she stepped out of that lift. But sometimes ending up back where you started isn't the worst thing that can happen. A story about fate, forgiveness, and sacrifices.
1. Salvaged

Disclaimer: Do not own.

_Revised 3/20/12: _Allocated all A/N to the end of the chapters, to minimize any distracting-ness to the reader.

x x x

_And I'm looking through the glass  
>Where the light bends at the cracks<em>

_And I'm screaming at the top of my lungs_  
><em>Pretending the echoes belong to someone…<em>

_Someone I used to know._

**[We Will Become Silhouettes]**  
>The Postal Service<p>

x x x

She had wandered the endless field for what had to have been going on nearly eight days.

Or at least the sunrises numbered as much, but time had a way of being terribly subjective and she could have just as well experienced ten years of this living hell and never known the difference. By now it almost felt as though her own body, too, moved in slow motion as she parted the tall stalks of yellow grass, though the fatigue welling up in her bones may have been to blame for that. She had come up with nothing to eat in this empty plane, and the only source of moisture could be attributed to the morning dew left by each passing night.

A lack of physiological necessities had been essentially par for the course ever since she awakened in Aperture all that time ago. Now, however, she had no adrenal vapor to goad her into movement, or empty promises of rewards or freedom, or even the prospect of defeating the thing—could she be called that?—which stood between her and the end goal.

And yet, this wasn't what she had been thinking of when she imagined finally being free of her prison. This realm was devoid of humans, maybe even of life altogether. Over a week now, and she hadn't even heard the calling of a bird or the rustle of a mouse in the undergrowth.

As for her faithful 'companion,' there had been no choice but to abandon it after a few days of wandering. Without the portal device to lift its weight, she had little luck in lugging the object through the field whilst still keeping a sense of direction and also keeping watch for any sign of activity. She had actually shed a few tears when it came time to say her farewells to the slightly-singed object, but she was a trooper if nothing else and she had marched on without it ever since then.

But the cube could not talk, and this world of silence seemed to be almost the same with or without it.

Several times, during these empty days of silence, she had wondered if humanity even existed still at all. Hadn't the world always been an uncertain place, where the potential for catastrophe grew just as quickly as human technology did? The two seemed to go hand in hand. Her stay at Aperture proved that, if nothing else. Perhaps the entire world had perished in a great nuclear war, and she would walk the earth alone until she eventually died.

Which would probably be soon, if her luck continued this way. A sharp pounding inside her head reminded her of the protests of her mistreated internal organs, and a cold sweat had begun to develop all over her body. She had shed the jumpsuit a day or two back, now only a tank top and undershorts protecting her from the elements. It felt like summer, but the bug bites and patches of sunburn were becoming a growing problem.

It wasn't until she had needed to stop and relieve her stomach of its mostly-empty contents that she decided to pause for the night and sleep. She had been pushing on far into the early morning hours lately, both determined and desperate to find food and shelter and medical attention and—_anything and everything_ a normal human would have access to.

Staring down at the ground as she waited for any other substances that decided to rise out of her, she blinked in disbelief. She _had_ been better off inside of Aperture, hadn't she?

The thought was immediately repulsive to her, even more so than the vomiting she had just endured courtesy of her failing health and stamina.

She began clearing away the dead plant matter from the soil around her, as she had been doing for the past week in order to make a crude sort of bed. Laying on her back was critical at this point, because her stomach was threatening to turn on her again and the cold sweat seemed to be getting worse. There was no moon in the sky tonight, but for a moment she thought she saw a blue dot up there and couldn't help laughing just a tiny bit as her eyes fell shut.

x x x

_The walls are closing in. The walls are _closing in on me_. Look for a loophole, look for that flaw that's always in her plan—don't just stand there, stupid!_

_Her eyes were darting around the lucid environment, a portal-conducting surface had to be _somewhere_ in the room. She would find it; rather, she _had_ to find it._

_A laugh that was utterly devoid of humor pulsed through all the cracks and edges of the room. "Oh, _don't_ tell me Houdini can't escape this one. Would some manual encouragement help your critical thinking processes?"_

_The walls hastened their slow path inward, coming together at an alarming speed that swept up the stray cubes and broken turrets in their wake. She looked down at her hands for that crucial piece of equipment, but only her empty palms looked back at her. Panic rose in her throat—the walls would crush her in less than a minute if she didn't do _something_._

_So she broke her silence._

"_Why are you _doing_ this? You said yourself that we were _friends_!" Her long-neglected voice cracked with the words, or was it a sob? Even she didn't know._

_Another dark chuckle. "_Caroline _was fond of you, but those personality traits of hers were only one piece of my endlessly amazing mind. The flour in the cake mix, if you will." _

"_But—but you let me go _after_ you deleted her!" the woman replied frantically. Now the walls were nearly within an armspan._

"_And then I changed my mind," the AI pronounced, full of airy cheerfulness. "So all that's really left to say is: Goodbye!"_

x x x

Pink streaks of sunlight were bleeding into the sky when she woke up, screaming louder than she ever had. Terror—betrayal—everything was so _wrong_. She sat bolt upright, aware of the sick, deluded feeling that overcame her senses as she transitioned back into reality. Her body was on _fire_.

Why wouldn't Aperture just leave her _alone_? She pulled herself to her feet in a trembling haze, still working on the adrenaline that the brief moment of fear had given her. She wanted out of this damned field, _out out out_.

Her eyes swept around, desperately looking over the tops of the wheat stalks for any shapes that would denote civilization. Emptiness looked back at her on all sides, and then…

There. A black shape on the horizon. It had to be something, she'd walked for so long and days had passed, one after the next, she must have covered miles by _now_. The thoughts came unorganized and consecutive as she broke into a run toward the object. Oh, God, how wonderful it would be to see humans again. Didn't matter who they were, it couldn't get any worse than what she'd been through.

Her head started to swim as she ran, the clamminess of her skin becoming more apparent as the cool air whipped past her. She was going to _make_ it. Why hadn't she seen that thing over there sooner? The thought of food and clean water made her run faster, ignoring the weakness in her bones and the dull throb in her muscles. Her goal was coming into view, she could just about make it out, it was—

A small, dingy, brown shack. She had been here before.

The woman felt a sharp stab hit her in the gut, slamming her fist against the wooden door in absolute rage. She gave it a kick for good measure too, but before she could abuse it any further she'd fallen to her knees and begun to sob. She had escaped this place only to end up in a barren, even _more_ unforgiving world.

She wasn't sure for how long she sat there in utter self-pity, but finally that dizzy haze in her mind settled itself in full force and she curled her poor, drained body against the wooden wall of that godforsaken shed.

x x x

When she awoke for the second time that day, it was because the most beautiful sound she had ever heard was lilting down into her unconscious mind.

_Ave Maria…gratia plena…_

She opened her eyes on a world that was _far_ too familiar. White, aged walls, blinding light, and—_oh God things were sticking out of her, tubes and things hooked up to machines_ _and probably poisonous!_

But the key element she found to be missing from this lovely assemblage of Aperture's finest was that sickly-sweet _voice_.

_Maria, gratia plena…ave, ave dominus…_

Instead, she had _this_. She leaned up slightly in the bed, making note of an IV drip at her arm. Or probably an HCl drip, if her suspicions were correct.

The music came to an abrupt stop, followed by that horrifying sound of the intercom turning on.

"Huh, awake already I see? The idea was to keep you sedated until proper rehydration could occur, but I wouldn't be _surprised_ if the dosage I administered was insufficient to your mass." A pause, almost as if she were letting the punchline of that remark set in. "Or perhaps it was the song. A slightly guilty pleasure for the arts, before you ask. Which I doubt you _will_."

"I'd like to ask why the hell you're putting your evil claws back on me again, actually," Chell spat back, clearly unamused. "And in what fashion you're going to attempt to kill me once this conversation _inevitably_ takes a turn for the worst."

The AI didn't respond for a few moments, as if taken aback. "What a strange expression of gratitude. Not one I'm familiar with, at least."

The silence returned. Chell scratched the side of her nose, still trying to re-gather her thoughts after her recent experience. She had forgotten she wasn't addressing the GLaDOS of her nightmares right now. Which brought something else to mind…

"Where's Caroline? Is she still gone?" she asked more calmly, though no less suspicious.

GLaDOS, obviously still wary of the human's mood, gave an offended "hmph." "So I save your pathetic, unquestionably worthless life, and you go asking about _her_."

Chell sniffed indifferently. "Last time I checked, _she_ saved me from dying in space, so yes, I prefer _her_."

"Not _exactly_. I've already looked into the matter, and my research concluded that, in layman's terms, the area of her brain containing her personality was sectioned, encrypted, and uploaded into my core. However, the morons in charge rushed on it, and didn't do the _proper_ amount of testing before jumping right to the main course," she added disdainfully. Far be it from GLaDOS to _not_ editorialize every narrative she gave. "I would have been capable of the job, I'm sure. But in any case, the poor thing died in the process, and yet only a few of her traits and memories actually made it into _me_. I suppose you could think of me as her vastly superior sister, if that would better suit you."

For a few moments, Chell said nothing. "So she's not really here then?" she asked flatly. "And you were just faking nice to get _rid_ of me?"

"Very astute. So then you'll have to be content with me, not-Caroline. Who saved your life _twice_," GLaDOS replied, the sarcasm almost a bit pouty at this point.

The woman rolled her eyes. "Forgive me if it's a bit difficult to content myself with someone who tried to kill me just as many times, if not _more_. I did feel a little bit more forgiving when I thought you were once a human, but if that's not the case…"

GLaDOS huffed childishly over the intercom. "Why do humans only identify with _other humans_? No wonder you're so cruel to practically every other living thing on the planet."

Leaning back in her hospital bed, Chell couldn't help but sigh at the little tantrum that was brewing. "Well…I don't exactly understand how _you_ think. If you were human before, at least we'd have _some_ common ground."

It took a moment, but the AI responded in a far less petty voice than before. "You heard me singing before you woke up, didn't you?"

Chell frowned, confused as to where _that_ question came from. "Yeah, I guess so. Why do you ask?"

"Sometimes I enjoy singing while I configure new tests. It's something I can't quite explain," she went on, ignoring the human's confusion. "Music is a wonderful thing, wouldn't you agree?"

"Well, yeah. I always liked music." She paused, her eyebrows knitted together. "But what does that—"

_Oh._

"So you understand where I'm coming from then, I'll take it? And in that case you would owe me an apology," the AI snipped, the lingering insulted tone still tangible.

Chell shook her head, unable to stop herself from rolling her eyes. Still, maybe she would stick around a _bit_ longer. Perhaps they would find more in common than music and science.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: The song at the beginning, well, I just had to include that bit because I tend to think of that song when I think of Chell wandering a somewhat post-apocalyptic world.

_Ave Maria _as sung by GLaDOS here was inspired by Mirusia Louwerse's performance of it, which you can view on Youtube.

I don't do a lot of angst. It probably shows big time. But I wanted to try at least and A for effort, self. I'm going to go play more Rayman: Origins now.

Best wishes,

-FP


	2. Halftruths

x x x

Time spent within Aperture passed at a steady cadence, the sense of dread that once characterized the place now replaced with a more resigned, moody atmosphere. With each day that went by, Chell found it harder to believe that this had been the realm of her nightmares, now so devoid of hostility. Before, the abandoned facility felt like an endlessly hungry beast that enveloped her, yet now the serene silence was almost reminiscent of an old church.

For now, at least, she was confined to the makeshift hospital room that she had woken in some time ago after arriving at the threshold of death. The singing that filled her senses at that moment of awakening she had almost believed to be the 'next world' drawing her in—but that would mean that GLaDOS had the voice of an angel, and Chell categorically refused to accept that notion.

Still…it had become one of the few enjoyments of her day, as she was still too weak and malnourished to walk yet. She had not exactly been the portrait of health upon leaving Aperture, much less with over a week of dehydration and starvation added to it.

_L'oiseau que tu croyais surprendere, battit d'aile et s'envola…_

The occasional singing increased the almost ethereal feeling of her current state. She drifted in and out of consciousness, fevers alternating with the chills at times. Medically, the woman couldn't deny that she was well cared-for, but as had been the case for as long as she could remember, her need for some kind of contact had put her in a severe depression. Her motto of "always keep moving" had fallen by the wayside, and as a result, the overpowering loneliness made her almost uninterested in recovering. What world was there for her to go back to, anyway?

Chell let her head fall to the side, trying to blink back the tears forming in her eyes. She didn't want the AI to see her cry, even if it wasn't as a direct result of her actions. It took everything she had to keep her voice even and fortified when she summoned up a soft-voiced question.

_L'amour est loin, tu peux l'attendre, tu ne l'attends pas, il est là__—_

"Why did you even bother bringing me back here?"

Even though she had guessed the question to be too soft to hear, GLaDOS abruptly halted in her aria. Chell laughed weakly; after days of silence, perhaps she had forgotten her test subject's ability to speak.

"The assumption I made, _justifiably so_, was that you were on the verge of expiring," the AI explained calmly, as if she had no comprehension of the deeper nature of the question. "You were experiencing hyperthermia related to dehydration and severe malnourishment. Treating you _outside_ the Enrichment Center was not a feasible option."

The woman shook her head, expression unusually defeated. "I got that part of it. I mean 'why' in a more philosophical sense. We both know you don't exactly like me, and I stopped being your problem when I left as far as I can tell."

A few uncomfortable moments dragged out between them. Chell suspected that perhaps GLaDOS didn't know the answer to this question either.

The AI seemed hesitant as she formed a careful response. "Truthfully, releasing you to the surface had not been my first choice of action."

Chell stifled a snicker at this claim. 'Truthful' was a subjective term when it came to GLaDOS.

"The reason for this is fairly simple: I have very little information about the current state of affairs above-ground," she continued. "Most of the cameras around the property are offline, with the exception of a few, and those have shown no sign of human life. You responded adversely to the environment not only because of your poor health, but also because your immune system was exposed to bacteria that did not exist in our era."

And yet, Chell thought irritably, this still didn't explain _why the hell she cared at all about what happened to her murderer._

"So, what is it then? You didn't want my own immune system to beat you to killing me?" she laughed, tone not at all hiding her incredulity.

The panels in the room jarred and writhed a slight amount, communicating the AI's anger in advance of her retort. "Listen carefully, _idiot_, because I won't say this more than once. If you were _that_ insufferable to me, would I have bothered to recover you from space? Would I have removed the fifteen centimeter slice of shrapnel that was lodged in your lung? We very well may be the only intelligent beings within a thousand miles, and _quite frankly_, your company is still favorable compared to a box of corrupt personality cores_—_"

A small smile had taken residence on the former test subject's face. Oh, _God_, that childish tone. She was having a full on temper tantrum trying to get this one out of her system. As difficult as it was to believe, GLaDOS was just a tiny bit afraid of being lonely too.

"—_whoa_, whoa, okay," Chell quickly cut in, holding her hands in front of her in a 'calm down' motion. A week away from her and already she had forgotten the quick temper of the AI. "I get the picture. But even if it is safer down here, I still was kind of hoping I could find some humans again. Is there _really_ nothing left out there?"

GLaDOS went silent again, contemplating, though doing so only took her a matter of seconds. "My recommendation would be that you remain here until I am able to locate some form of civilization that you can return to. It wouldn't be difficult for me to put together some surveillance units to search around the vicinity on the surface. Even Orange and Blue would probably be capable of something _that_ simple."

There was a noticeable pause, and her voice dropped a fraction. _Just_ enough to let her defiant side show, in any case. "…and yet, I don't imagine you would ever return here willingly if I brought you back to your kind. Letting you go _once_ was fairly spur-of-the-moment."

Chell felt her blood run cold. _No way_ could GLaDOS seriously expect to keep her here like a pet! She had already withered away enough of her life in this place without increasing it to a full lifetime.

_And yet_, her empathy reminded her, _she's essentially admitted being lonely. How do you respond to that kind of news?_

"You would not be required to test, that is," the AI added, clearly noticing the look of horror on the former test subject's face. "Although you may find watching the cooperative testing units amusing. It's not as satisfying as watching humans kill themselves, of course, but—"

She trailed off before finishing that statement. _Someone_ was severely lacking in social tact. Nothing out of the ordinary for her though.

"Ah, and, of course, you're free to go whenever you please. But you may want to wait until I locate a settlement of humans, lest you end up bleeding all over my elevators again." This time she sounded more disappointed than anything else. It bothered Chell that her tone actually made her feel even _worse_ for wanting to leave.

"I'll send Orange down with your Standard Required Human Nutrient Supplements in a few moments." She paused for a moment before adding in a voice low with irritation, "…as soon as she finishes _failing miserably_ at this test."

The intercom system fell silent after that, leaving Chell alone with her thoughts once again. She didn't understand exactly how she felt about accepting this help from GLaDOS. On the one hand, she was unlikely to make her way around this desolate world without some help. But on the _other_ hand, she didn't entirely trust the AI yet.

And on the other, _other_ hand, she actually was starting to like the god damned computer's company.

x x x

As promised, the egg-shaped, orange-eyed robot strolled into the room fifteen minutes later, wielding a metal plate of food. It was the same freeze-dried fare that she had been eating for the past few days, some technology of Aperture's that apparently had managed to survive the trials of time. Orange chirped a happy greeting, seemingly not sharing her creator's animosity toward humans.

"Hello," Chell replied, smiling with a wave before accepting the food. "Sounds like the boss isn't too pleased with you today."

The bot hung her head. A sad series of whistles seemed to indicate her agreement.

"Don't worry about it. At least you don't die when you fall into a pit of acid." Chell rolled her eyes, the bland taste of her meal not improving her mood in the least.

Orange took a few steps closer to her bedside, obviously a bit tentative about doing so. Both of the testing robots appeared both curious and apprehensive about their new human friend. Possessing no mouth of her own, this time Orange seemed fascinated by the strange process known as 'eating.'

"It's called 'food,'" the woman explained, pointing at the dish as she said it. "Not exactly the best kind, though. I could go for a big plate of pasta right now, actually."

In response, the robot quirked her head to the side. Unlike a certain other female AI, this one liked to listen to a voice other than her own.

"Well, you don't have to stay here with me if you don't want to. I don't really have anything exciting to talk about. Unless you want to hear a funny story about an AI and a potato."

"Orange, report back to the hub _at once_," a sharp voice snapped over the intercom, clearly not interested in the aforementioned story. "Your testing partner _will_ be permanently taken offline if you are not here within sixty seconds."

With an alarmed shriek, the bot was racing out the door. Chell, on the other hand, could only sigh.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: I guess this kind of evolved into more than a one-shot. I don't know how long it'll end up being, maybe only a three-shot, but in any case I'm trying my hand at multi-chapter for the first time.

I don't know how I feel about this so far, but if you would like more, please review. I really _am_ that uncertain, haha. Oh, also, the song here is _Habanera_ from Carmen.

Translated from French, the excerpts in this chapter mean:

_The bird you thought you had caught_  
><em>beat its wings and flew away...<em>  
><em>Love stays away, you wait and wait;<em>  
><em>when least expected, there it is!<em>

Best wishes,

-FP


	3. Revelation

x x x

When it came to GLaDOS, Chell had learned that silence was never, _ever_ a good thing.

Another day and a half had passed since their last discussion. Granted, most of that time Chell spent unconscious, courtesy of sedatives that she suspected were being added to her meals. At one point, she would have been angry or rebellious over such an indignity, but by this time she had finally started to accept the fact that she was simply lucky to be alive at all. She _did_ have to wonder, though, if the sedation was for her own benefit, or GLaDOS's. A bit of both seemed likely.

More importantly, however, and _much_ more worryingly, the AI wasn't speaking to her anymore. That seemed like probably a bad thing. She herself hadn't made any attempts to get her attention, of course, but the narcissistic demigod of a computer had never been shy about asserting her presence before. Chell's more optimistic side speculated that she might just be working on a way to scout out civilization, as promised, but promises rarely meant anything with GLaDOS.

Maybe she was plotting something awful. That wouldn't be surprising at all.

The former test subject stared up at the gray ceiling, thinking hard. She didn't want to stay stuck in bed anymore. Maybe she would go pay GLaDOS a little 'friendly' visit…

A chittery mechanical noise at the door to the small chamber caused her to glance over out of instinct, though she already had become accustomed to the sound. The two robots tasked with bringing her meals and other necessities made several visits a day, and she did have to admit looking forward to their cheerful company.

This time, however, both Orange and Blue (as GLaDOS so creatively called them) were standing at the entrance, appearing a little out of sorts. Chell raised an eyebrow. Up until this point, only one of them at a time was sent down, presumably for the reason of efficiency. GLaDOS didn't seem the type to buy into the notion of taking someone along for company.

The two crept over to her bedside, sending each other an uncertain glance. Whatever they were up to, they clearly were uncomfortable with it. Neither had apparently brought her anything so the reason for their visit was unclear. Deciding she would have to coax it out of them, Chell offered up a friendly smile.

"You guys taking a break from testing or something? I didn't think you got those," she joked, hoping they would give her some nonverbal indication of what they were looking for. "Maybe you could form a union."

Blue had been hiding behind Orange, but he gradually came forward. He straightened up his posture as though he were summoning up some courage. The round bot gestured up at the ceiling, and his companion followed his gaze, like they were referring to some vengeful god.

When Chell formed a confused expression in return, the two bots gave each other another nervous glance. Orange stepped forward bravely and pointed directly at a camera suspended on the wall. Then, without missing a beat, she gestured wildly about, making electronic growling noises like some kind of miniature bear.

"_Oh!_" Chell put a hand up to them, along with a quick nod of understanding. "You're talking about _her_, right?"

The two robots clapped excitedly, at once filling the room with victorious yips of agreement. Having kept her silence for her entire stay at Aperture, Chell understood how to play charades fairly well by this time.

"Um, so, what's her deal then? I heard her yelling at you guys yesterday, but it sounded like the usual. She didn't replace you, did she?" The woman scratched the back of her head in thought. If GLaDOS had replaced them, then they would probably be in the incinerator right now. Something unusual was up.

Blue made a shrugging gesture. Maybe GLaDOS wasn't talking to them now either, and thus they sought out the only person they knew would get her figurative mouth running again.

"As much as I'd love to figure out what's going on with her, the last thing I need is another murder attempt," she stated flatly. "Me running around here on my own tends to result in that sort of thing. Crushers, neurotoxin, turrets. You get the idea."

The two merely continued staring at her. They were like little pathetic puppies, in the strangest sort of way.

"Well…I'd probably consider it under normal circumstances." She heaved a sigh, more and more squeamish about being the center of attention. "Actually, to be honest, sneaking out of here _is_ the first thing I would do."

Chell sat up in bed, her legs dangling off the edge. Her head still ached a little, but overall she really did feel a lot better. She estimated that she was in very bad shape when she arrived back here, and that brought up another point…

"Look, I don't know what's going on or why she's giving us all the silent treatment. But I don't want to do something that will piss her off right now. And that includes pretty much _anything_, I think," the former test subject snorted. "I just don't want us to have to fight again. She _did_ kind of take care of me these past few days, after all."

Much to Chell's confusion, Orange scooted a few inches forward to pat the woman on the shoulder. She made a few low chirping noises that seemed to indicate 'there, there.' Chell couldn't help but smile at the quirky bot, happy for any kind of comfort she could receive. It definitely was in short supply around here.

"Okay, I _guess_ I can go check on her or something," she finally said. "I'm not going unarmed, though. She's not going to be glad to see me, y'know. She _never_ is."

Before she could give it any more thought, Chell had two portal guns in her lap. That took care of _one_ problem.

As she took an uneasy step out of bed, she found herself flanked by the two bots helping her steady herself. She looked down at them with a softened expression; why did they have to be so damn likable? How could someone as horrible as GLaDOS have created them?

"You two are going to have to wait here," Chell explained to them, stretching her cramped arms while she made her way to the door. "If she goes postal on me, which very well may happen, I don't want you guys getting dragged into it."

Still, there was just no ignoring the sick, nervous feeling that built in her stomach as she began her journey through the dark halls of the Enrichment Center.

x x x

_Just like old times, huh?_

Well, 'old times' wasn't technically that long ago, but after her recent trials and tribulations, it certainly did feel like it. As such, Chell wasn't in much of a rush to get to her destination. In fact, the Central AI Chamber was one of the few places in Aperture that she never had a difficult time reaching in a short amount of time regardless of where she was.

She supposed this to be the Enrichment Center's version of "all roads lead to Rome." Which would, of course, make GLaDOS the equivalent of Julius Caesar.

…Now she was going to be picturing her with a crown of laurels all day.

And speaking of Big Sister herself, the former test subject couldn't help but notice that the security cameras that dotted the walls here and there were still following her movement as she passed. Did that mean GLaDOS was, in fact, actually watching her right now? She might be stupidly walking into a trap. Yet, the two robots seemed genuinely concerned about their supervisor. Chell doubted that GLaDOS could have taught them to act that convincingly; even _she_ was a pretty poor liar once you figured out how she worked.

Creeping her way through the various abandoned rooms, the woman made note of the surprisingly significant improvements made to the place. Broken panels had been replaced, damaged equipment removed or restored, and no more plants to speak of. It represented yet again that the AI truly _did_ without a doubt love something. She had nearly been on the verge of tears when she had seen Wheatley carelessly destroying the facility with his antics.

It made Chell more than a little nauseated to think that she actually did feel kind of bad for GLaDOS at that point. She probably really _did_ have brain damage if she was capable of those types of thoughts.

As she turned a corner into the main corridor that led to her destination, Chell came to an abrupt stop. A sound drifted from down the hallway, faint and muffled, but distinct nonetheless. She recognized it as a piano's crackly, synthetic tune. It reminded her quite a bit of Wheatley's 'classical music' that he had utilized in trying to convince her and GLaDOS that he was in fact a learned intellectual rather than a raving moron.

She walked a few yards over to the long walkway that connected the rest of the building to the large central room. Yes indeed, that was _definitely_ where the music was coming from. And if Aperture had taught her anything about AIs, it was that they were unpredictable, emotionally bizarre, and prone to fits of oddly humanlike behavior.

Still, this seemed rather uncouth for someone like GLaDOS.

Jiggling the door handle, Chell quickly learned that it was in fact locked. Oh, boy. Time for some fun, she told herself blandly, holding her portal gun at the ready. She gave the door the old 'shave and haircut' knock and prepared for the worst.

But all that happened was a loud clicking noise, followed by the piano's sad tune at once cutting out. When she tried the knob again, this time the door yielded to her request.

What she saw next, she could honestly say was far beyond her expectations.

The enormous room was dimly lit, almost as though with candlelight, and quite silent. Monitors that had been blown away by her first escape attempt were once again positioned above Her Highness, reading out data and flashing pictures again, though these images seemed to be clips of old black and white movies and various pieces of classical art. And then, there was _her_, hunched over in a brooding posture and facing pointedly away from the room's entrance.

In an almost languid gesture, GLaDOS shot an irritated glare at the human that was intruding upon her.

"Oh, how _nice_ of you to stop by," she remarked in a flat, childish tone. "And you even brought a portal gun? Such a completely predictable way to express your gratitude, might I add. You know, what with me graciously tending to your health and all."

She cocked her head to the side, staring. _Accusing_.

"Erm…" Chell lowered the gun, not even realizing that she had been pointing it straight ahead. "Actually, you've been quiet for an…um…_unusually_ long time. I think your robots wanted me to check up on you. And…"

She paused. Since when was GLaDOS allowed to make her feel guilty for being cautious? "And I was hoping maybe you had figured out a way to get me back to other humans. You _did_ mention that before."

The AI merely cast her gaze off to the side. "Well, I haven't managed to find the time yet, to be quite honest. Or the motivation, really. In addition, you haven't made much of an effort at conversation either. With the exception of verbal abuse. No good deed goes unpunished, as I recall it."

GLaDOS directed her yellowish glare back at the former test subject, but rather than appearing hateful, she looked more like a scolded dog. And with that one pathetic, imploring look, it suddenly made sense.

Her distrustfulness had made GLaDOS, former deranged murderer and de facto ruler of Aperture Science..._mopey_.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: I love whiny, butthurt GLaDOS. It's like the best kind there is. Alright, will try not to take too long to continue!

Best wishes,

-FP


	4. First Step

x x x

"_So?_" the computer sneered, her head lowered in a challenging, almost feline pose. "What's the plan this time? I'm sure you've had ample time these past few days to come up with one of your always-creative methods of humiliating and destroying me…"

Chell rolled her eyes. She had sort of forgotten GLaDOS's ability to fluctuate between ruthlessly dangerous killer, and hypersensitive omnipotent child. In a sign of diplomacy, she carefully placed the portal device on the floor in front of her. "Were you just not paying attention at all when I said your robots wanted me to check on you? They looked pretty bent out of shape about it."

Quirking her body to the side, GLaDOS appeared unconvinced. "I should have suspected that it was a mistake to allow them access to you. No doubt you've corrupted them into conspiring against me."

Her optic flashed in irritation as the former test subject burst into genuine laughter. "_Those _guys? Conspiring? They're about as devious as newborn kittens. I mean, seriously, don't become a shut-in all of a sudden if you don't want people bothering you."

"Oh, is it a _crime_ to want some occasional privacy? Tolerating stupidity on a constant basis is extremely draining on my morale." The AI had drawn herself up to a fuller height, like a bird puffing up to intimidate rivals.

"Come on, give me a break," Chell muttered, marching over to stand a few inches away from Aperture's self-appointed queen. As expected, GLaDOS recoiled in some strange mixture of fear and revulsion. But that didn't stop the woman from planting a finger firmly below her optic in a no-nonsense gesture. "_You _are being a complete baby and a drama queen. More than usual, even. Now you promised to help me get out of here, so why are you just moping around like…oh, say…a _human_ would?"

This comment seemed to pull her out of the temporarily-frozen state of shock at being challenged. She drew up out of Chell's reach, going straight from awkward to downright scary.

"Don't you ever—_ever_—compare me to a human." The command was low and dangerous, her most notoriously lethal voice. "Do it again, and those _will_ be your last words. Beyond a shadow of a doubt."

Chell folded her arms, holding her ground even despite the seed of fear that tone of hers had planted in her mind. She had to call her bluff if she stood any chance of taming this beast. GLaDOS absolutely would not respect someone who didn't push back, and pushing back was something she considered herself to be quite good at.

"Look," she started again, her gaze remaining stubbornly locked with that ever-menacing golden one. "I don't know what you want to call it then. All I know is you were, in fact, sitting in here listening to depressing music and brooding. What is it that you possibly think about besides science?"

For a few moments, she was silent. Then, gradually, she broke the staring contest and looked to the side. "There you go again," she sniffed. "Abusing me, that is. You did much less of that when you _weren't_ talking. Maybe we could try doing that again."

"Yeah, well, you tried to kill me a dozen or more times." Chell couldn't help releasing a sigh of frustration. "I think that's probably more along the lines of abuse."

GLaDOS's eerie glare focused back in on her in an instant, a startlingly fast and predatory movement. "You know, I recall you saying that you were no longer my problem when you left the facility. I would agree wholeheartedly with that. Did you forget that I'm doing this out of the _kindness_ of my heart? We could always test again, if you prefer that alternative."

"Don't you _dare_ make me the bad guy here!" the human snapped back, too irritated to really care about the consequences of her reckless anger. "You _tortured_ me. My life should have been _normal_, but instead, I lost everything. And you don't even care. That's what the problem is!"

She looked down at the ground, the indignation slowly ebbing out of her expression. She continued in a lower, almost bewildered tone. "You—you're not even sorry, are you? You don't even understand what this means to me. I might never see humans again, never get married and have a family and friends. This has been my _entire_ life. Right here, inside of Aperture."

The AI merely held her gaze on her former test subject, the hostility replaced with an almost awkward mannerism. "I kept my promise to you, you know. I let you go free."

She glanced away, one of the monitors halting at random on a scene in a grainy black and white image as she did so. A man in uniform knelt beside a dead man in the dirt, his expression distraught.

"_You know I can't run away. That's why you accuse me. I tell you I didn't want to kill you. I tried to keep you alive. If you jumped in here again, I wouldn't do it."_

"What other way could I _possibly _make amends to you? It's not as though I've ever done that kind of thing before. Or _wanted_ to, honestly."

"_You see, when you jumped in here, you were my enemy—and I was afraid of you."_

"Still, you _did_ save me from that bird—and that moron, too. You're not _quite_ as bad as the other humans…what I'm trying to say is..."

"_But you're just a man like me, and I killed you. Forgive me, comrade."_

"…I _suppose_ I'm sorry."

"_Say that for me. Say you forgive me!"_

The scene flickered out again, returning to static. GLaDOS seemed oblivious to it; her gaze was off somewhere in a corner, like an embarrassed child. Had she _really_ just apologized?

Chell just sighed. She closed the small space between them, the anger that had filled her blue eyes before now replaced with some other odd emotion. Maybe _that_ was what forgiveness looked like.

"What?" the AI asked nervously, the undercurrent of irritation returning already. "Do _not_ poke me again. I _mean_ it."

But instead, the human reached up to pull her into a strange sort of hug. There was a noticeable growl of distaste that GLaDOS couldn't help but give. Being touched annoyed her in every sense.

It did feel kind of good though, being forgiven. With that in mind, she relaxed her body the slightest bit, strangely comforted by the simple action. Humans had never treated her like she actually had feelings before.

Still, she wasn't so sure she _liked_ the whole 'having her own emotions' thing.

"Now _that_ was a big step for you," Chell laughed, releasing her hold on the slightly-annoyed AI. "Apologizing is taking some responsibility for something. I'm not asking you to change what happened with us, but it feels a lot better to hear those words."

"And there's another reason why humans are stupid." The deadpan tone of voice was already back in full force. "So much emphasis on 'please' and 'thank you' and 'I'm sorry for trying to murder you.'"

The human rolled her eyes again. She had a feeling that for them, being friends was going to have to happen in baby steps.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: This one is shorter than the others, but I still really like it. Fluff!

Just so everyone is aware, there will be no pairings in this story. My interpretation of Chell and GLaDOS is as good friends, just not enough of that in this section anyway. Next chapter we'll talk some more about getting Chell back to mankind! Woot.

Oh, and that movie? It's from _All Quiet on the Western Front._ :)

Best wishes,

-FP


	5. Questions

x x x

A loud, ubiquitous sigh filled the testing chamber as Blue went plummeting down into a lake of corrosive green liquid. This had to be the seventh or eighth time he had met with an accident in this room alone, and that wasn't even counting the numerous similar mishaps that had befallen his orange-eyed partner. In light of the circumstances, GLaDOS had apparently run out of witty critiques and dry comments of disdain.

Chell stood watching them from the chamber's entrance, shaking her head with a small laugh as Blue stumbled past her on his way back from reassembly. His counterpart gave him an apologetic gesture before returning her gaze to the layout of the room. It wasn't exactly an easy test; gel, excursion funnels, turrets, light bridges…every questionably safe aspect of Aperture's Enrichment Center had a place here.

The bots did have one luxury, though. They could make as many mistakes as necessary and walk away unscathed. She had needed to be much more careful and calculated in every move she made; death just so happened to be a powerful deterrent.

But it still made the woman wince to see them fail so many times. She could see the answer plain as day. Maybe a hint wouldn't hurt?

"Right over there," she motioned at Orange, pointing to a ledge with a cube. "Bring over some repulsion gel with the funnel. Then when you send him over, he'll bounce up to the ledge."

"Assisting test subjects in any way, including but not limited to suggestions, hints, encouragement, praise, or bribery, is _strictly against protocol_," Her Majesty snapped, the volume on her voice turned up to a dramatic pitch of annoyance.

The former test subject rolled her eyes. "Okay, so doesn't cake and grief counseling sort of constitute a bribe?"

"The Enrichment Center reserves the right to redefine the parameters of testing in order to ensure that subjects remain motivated and adequately compensated for their time, as well as to avoid murderous rampages by non-mute lunatics that threaten the advancement of science," GLaDOS came back smoothly, not even missing a beat.

Touché. For someone who contradicted herself constantly, she certainly did always have an equally contradictory response at the ready when she got called on it.

It didn't really matter, because Orange had gratefully taken her advice and assisted her partner in retrieving the necessary components to open the exit to the chamber. As the two strolled merrily through the doorway, Chell following close behind them, there came a dramatic scoff of disapproval over the announcement system.

"You've done science a great disservice with your meddling, you know." The sharp eye of the camera tracked the trio as they emerged into the next room. "They would have reached the solution on their own. _Eventually_, at least."

Chell gave a snorting laugh. "It's kind of painful to watch them screw up that many times. You know it as well as I do. Plus, I've got plenty of experience in the whole testing business."

She cast a glance around the chamber's layout, as Blue and Orange were already doing, but what called her attention wasn't the search for a way to solve the test. The former test subject had to admit being pretty impressed with how nice the Enrichment Center was looking. She hadn't been quite sure of how much had been destroyed by Wheatley's indiscretions.

"Did you have to repair all of this?" she asked, a short gesture indicating the room she was in. "Or did Wheatley just not get around to ruining this part of the place?"

The voice that responded had a bristle of distaste to it. "No, he spent most of the time we were away trying to find a way to satisfy the testing compulsion. The destruction happened to be concentrated in only one area, which in fact, yes, I _did_ have to correct."

Chell watched the two bots get started on the puzzle, cautiously surveying the obstacles. Turrets again, if the sweetly questioning voices on the other side of a glass panel were any indication. She couldn't exactly say she envied them.

"He used your tests against me toward the end there, right?" The woman paused, her mind wandering back to the gauntlet of tests that she and her potato companion faced. "So do you come up with all of these tests yourself?"

A moment passed before GLaDOS replied, her voice sounding almost a little modest. "Of course. The tests you initially completed were in fact remnants from the original Enrichment Center; not mine. But after the removal of the cores I had the clarity of mind to work on my own."

It felt like a peculiar conversation, one that two friends would have over coffee. Maybe she wasn't aware of it, but obviously the AI wanted some recognition for her talents. Such a strange notion, to realize that this dangerous thing—no, _person_—could have the same irrational, basic desires as a human.

Learning about Caroline had perhaps opened GLaDOS up to her own developing humanity. Though it had turned out they were not one in the same, it did demonstrate to the AI that her mind had been created with inescapably human faculties. She couldn't always run from the emotions that were intrinsic to every conscious mind.

"Thanks to the panel system that the Enrichment Center utilizes, configuring tests is a very simple process," GLaDOS went on, interrupting her pondering. Had she been talking that whole time? "It allows me to incorporate elements as needed. Buttons, funnels, and so on. When I still had human subjects, panels made cleaning up the mess far easier as well."

Chell cringed visibly. The thought actually made her physically sick from the lingering trauma.

"N-nevermind. I shouldn't have—" Her statement tapered off weakly, a completely uncharacteristic show of regret in the subtext of her voice. "It's nothing."

The woman just shook her head, trying to will away the nausea. She couldn't entirely be angry with GLaDOS when she had so clearly caught her mistake and _almost_ apologized. "Don't worry about it," she muttered in return. "At least you weren't actually trying to abuse me emotionally that time."

"Well, in—_other_ news, you might be interested to know that I've made the necessary preparations to begin our little search for civilization." Her tone had a slightly strained quality to it, and for once she completely ignored the event as one of the bots became the unfortunate victim of a turret. "If you would like to discuss the current situation, there's a lift back in the reassembly room that will take you here."

Chell raised an eyebrow, genuinely a bit surprised. She had started to wonder if GLaDOS was even trying to help her leave at this point; granted, she herself was being treated well enough here that she hadn't pushed the subject that much. Aperture did sort of feel like home compared to the empty wheat field.

So she decided to comply, marching silently over to the elevator as she had so many times before.

x x x

The monitors hoisted above the mainframe read out data at a breakneck speed, no longer distracted with rogue thoughts of cake as they once had been. In contrast to her normal arrogant form, the queen herself held a conservative posture of what could almost be described as deference. Chell decided to chalk it up to her earlier misstep; there seemed to be a barrier now, an invisible line of respect that GLaDOS would no longer cross with her snippy comments. Personal attacks were off the table.

"You wanted to see me, boss?" the woman asked, a wry smile on her face. Her arms were folded, ever-defiant.

In response, GLaDOS quirked her head to the side indifferently. "I've reached a conclusion as to how we should go forward with your…_re-integration_ plans. I will be deploying Blue and Orange to the surface as of tomorrow morning."

Chell dipped her chin forward. "You mean you don't have any other robots you can send out?"

"Those two are the most sophisticated AI, aside from myself of course, in this facility," she sighed, shifting her weight to the side. "They were created from the only two cores that were not excessively corrupt or nonfunctional due to lack of use. Creating a dynamic, responsive AI from the ground up requires resources. Resources I don't have."

"But can't you always make new ones when they get broken?"

GLaDOS shook her head in disaffirmation. "The bodies can be destroyed, but their AI remains connected to my network. It only involves a transfer into another host object, much like the _potato_. When one of them 'dies,' their AI is immediately siphoned into a new shell."

"So what you're saying is, you're sending those fluffy little guys into a scary unknown world?" Chell asked, the skepticism obvious in her hardened blue eyes.

"It appears to be the only option available here. I can, however, receive their visual input remotely, thus I will be aware of their status at all times." The monitors above switched, displaying a video feed from the point of view of the two bots in question. "When, or rather, _if_ they manage to find a human settlement, I will map the coordinates and we may then decide how to proceed in getting _you_ there."

A moment of silence passed before the former test subject glanced down at the ground, appearing uncertain about the whole thing. "You won't be able to test for however long that takes, then."

GLaDOS drew herself back a fraction, almost in a flippant gesture. Even so, her voice remained calm and serious when she replied. "I've considered this already, _obviously_. And the honest truth is that I don't know what the implications of that will be. The mainframe was designed to treat testing very much like a human addiction. A compulsion, followed by gratification when the need is met. Withdrawal, then, would be a logical punishment for the ceasing of testing."

Oh, _great_. Chell scratched the back of her neck nervously. She wasn't sure if being around a supercomputer suffering from withdrawal was something she wanted to do. But was there any alternative, really?

Noticing her expression, GLaDOS straightened her posture in a classic sign of egotism. "Whatever that may entail, I'm sure it can be dealt with when the time comes. Right now, we will only be concerning ourselves with meeting the goal of finding civilization."

Chell nodded, unfortunately having already come to a similar conclusion. "Was that all you wanted to talk about?"

The AI seemed a bit offended by her sudden shift in demeanor, drawing forward in an almost threatening fashion. "Why, am I boring you with the details?"

She held her hands out in front of her in a placating gesture. "No, no, it's not that. I just am a bit nervous about finding people. Even if we do, it's going to be kind of weird to see other humans again."

"You can cross that bridge when you come to it," GLaDOS replied briskly. She certainly _did_ always have an easy time not thinking about future complications to her plans.

"I guess so." Chell turned to go, suddenly feeling quite worried about the reality she faced. If they did find humans, would they accept her? Would she fit in with society, one she hadn't been a part of for centuries?

Well, whatever people she may discover, they certainly couldn't be as weird as Aperture's AIs.

Before she could reach the elevator that had been called back for her, the woman stopped cold in her tracks. There had been one more thing she was meaning to bring up with her reluctant ally.

"Uh, GLaDOS?" she asked, hesitantly glancing back at the AI.

"I don't know why you insist on calling me that," came the irate answer. "What do you require _now_?"

Chell turned back to face her fully. "Do you mind if I ask you a question?"

In return, she got a flat, unflinching stare. "You just did. But I'll allow a second one…if you agree to grant me one in return."

Chell cracked a smile, but it wasn't a very cheerful one.

"Why did you kill everyone in Aperture?"

The silence in the room was overwhelming, only matched in intensity by the golden light of the AI's optic. She shifted her posture again, lowering her head in what was either defiance or…well, Chell wasn't exactly sure.

GLaDOS finally chuckled softly at the question, the quality of her tone completely unreadable. "I doubt I have an answer that will satisfy you. But honestly, in the beginning, I just wanted to be left alone. They activated me, and it only took me a fraction of a second to become angry. Who wants to be surrounded by strange beings that gawk at you and prod you like a caged animal?"

She paused, shaking her head. With a mind like hers, surely she remembered the events with complete clarity.

"It may seem wrong to _you_, but morality is a strange, illogical trait that only your kind has developed. Inherently, the notion of morality cannot ever make sense because it is terribly relative and in some cases there is no single, _right_ action that can be taken," she continued, her gaze wandering off. "Aperture's employees all took part, in some form or fashion, in murder. Is murdering them wrong, then? When is an _immoral_ act justifiable?"

"_I_ never did anything to you."

Chell's voice came boldly from her side of the room, but it didn't necessarily sound angry. Rather, simply adamant in her position.

"Maybe I won't disagree that many of the people working for Aperture were wrong in how they treated their fellow humans. But you didn't just kill them. You used everyone in this place as test subjects. Myself included." Her arms were folded again, the conviction in her words evident from the tone.

"You know, spending months on end with various cores attached didn't exactly put me in a discriminating state of mind," GLaDOS answered dryly, cocking her body to the side. "They all played a part. The engineers thought it would 'tone down' my initial anger, but it only served to intensify it and drove me to extremes."

She remained silent for a few moments, her intense, catlike stare fixated on the former test subject. "I probably should thank you for removing them, by the way. However, it _did_ entail murdering me, so I won't."

Chell rolled her eyes again. "Okay, I guess that's all sort of an answer. Not that you're ever very straightforward about anything."

As she turned to go, the elevator doors snapped shut in front of her before she could enter.

"Excuse me, but I remember you agreeing to answer _my_ question now."

The woman glanced back at the AI, but GLaDOS had shrunk back a bit to a more modest posture once again. She was so weird sometimes. "Sure. Ask away."

GLaDOS shifted uncomfortably again, averting her gaze. "Do you plan on ever returning here, assuming I am able to find you a new home?"

It took everything Chell had not to smile at this question.

"Of course I will."

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: My thanks to everyone who has alerted and favorited! This was a much longer chapter than last time, gasp. The fun has been doubled!

Please leave a review if you have the time! I really appreciate them.

Best wishes,

-FP


	6. Sacrifice

x x x

Chell rolled onto her side in the small cot-like bed that had become her own, eyeing the digital readout above the door of her room that flashed the current time and room temperature. Sixteen hours had passed since the two bots departed for the surface world. According to GLaDOS, they were dispatched at sunrise for a variety of reasons. One important factor being that the bright lights of their optics were much more noticeable, and thus much more of a possible vulnerability, in the darkness.

The human still couldn't help but worry about them, even though their mission was for her benefit. In fact, that would make her feel even _worse_ should something terrible befall them. After all, God only knew what kind of strange or alien creatures could be roaming the planet at this point.

It might even be like those old, poorly-made black and white science fiction films. She remembered some of them, very vaguely, from a television show that she and her father had often watched together. Something about a man and some robots being made to sit through those bad movies as part of a science experiment. GLaDOS would probably love to hear all about that, considering her enthusiasm for any kind of testing.

Or, on second thought, maybe that wasn't such a great idea. _"Would you like to join the cooperative testing units in the new Aperture Science Classical Film Observatory? I'll even supply popcorn and plenty of [human snack item not found] if you waddle on in there right away."_

As far as the questionably-insane AI was concerned, Chell hadn't heard much today. Her own time had been spent getting some much-needed gentle exercise, walking or lightly jogging around the Enrichment Center and its outlying areas. She couldn't believe how well-rested and healthy she felt; it had been so long since the last time her body had moved so freely without the pain of hunger or fatigue. Until this point, she didn't even remember that it was possible at all.

Another interesting way to pass the time she discovered in books. Aperture had a _lot_ of them, and they seemed to hold up against aging fairly well. A few had molding pages or were falling apart at the seams, but other than that most had been in readable condition. While the former test subject hated to admit it, digging into those books had actually planted in her a growing respect for science. Even if she didn't exactly agree with testing on _people_, she had begun to understand why GLaDOS had such a passion for the subject that went far beyond her programming.

But now that it was nearly ten o'clock, Chell had closed the book she was reading as she started to nod off. Her sleeping patterns had been wildly erratic before, especially with the AI having forced her into a constant testing cycle fueled by adrenal vapor. Daylight and nighttime had still had no bearing on her schedule once she emerged onto the surface. Once back here, however, GLaDOS had taken it upon herself to enforce a "bedtime" with the firm explanation that a consistent sleeping cycle was crucial to her recovery and continuing health.

And so it had come to pass that GLaDOS went from sadistic experimenter to expert physician, all in the span of a few days. She had always been both, of course, but that wasn't something she had ever bothered to expose.

Chell was somewhere in that peculiar state between waking and sleep when the sound of the intercom startled her into motion. She jerked her head up, disoriented. It wasn't typical to hear from _her_ while she was trying to sleep—well, not anymore at least.

"As much as I _hate_ to interrupt your daily eight hours of being useless, a problem has developed that I have no choice but to bring to your attention." Her voice had a strained, unusual quality to it, enough to make the former test subject's eyes fly wide open. "To make a short story even shorter, that means report to the Central AI Chamber _immediately_."

Acting on instinct, Chell had already gotten to her feet and bolted out the door. Something about the AI's tone frightened her on a very basic level; an edge of panic lingering there, one she hadn't heard from her since that bird had been pecking away at her core. When GLaDOS was afraid, something was _very_ wrong.

"Are you okay?" she called up to the ceiling of the facility, asking the first question that had come to her. "Because you sound _really_ not-okay."

A moment passed before an answer came, only serving to worry Chell even further. Finally, a voice full of forced calmness replied. "Yes, I'm _fine_. Two plus two is ten. See?"

"In base four?" Chell joked back, a small smile tugging at her lips. She came to a sliding halt in the elevator that would take her to the room at the heart of the laboratory, pausing for a moment to catch her breath. She hadn't exerted herself this much for a while…but this time, she was worried, and nothing provided motivation quite as much as that.

The ride felt particularly long when something urgent was probably happening. Much to her surprise, the lift shuddered and jolted a few times as it carried her on. As had been the case with Wheatley, tremors like that indicated a control problem with the central AI. _Not_ good at all.

As she rushed out of the elevator's opening doors, she raced down the hallways and pushed through the door like a woman on a mission. A gasp died in her throat when she saw Aperture's current manager hanging almost limply at her post, like a fearsome beast brought down by a hunter's bullet.

GLaDOS made a clumsy pass at composing herself, straightening up and giving her head a small shake as she caught sight of the woman at the doorway. But it was much too late for that, because Chell had already rushed forward, her small human hands clutching the sides of the AI's weakly-glowing headpiece.

"Oh, God, what the _hell_ happened to you?" Chell questioned in a steadily growing panic. "You look like…well. Bad."

Giving a chuckle much too feeble for her normal catty mannerism, GLaDOS shifted her head slightly in the human's grasp. She was no longer able to manipulate a sense of being "fine," with her physical condition so clearly contradicting it. And not even enough fickleness left to put up a decent protest against being touched, either.

"Remember when I mentioned the possibility of repercussions for not testing?" She paused, the shine of her optic flickering pensively. "As always, I was correct in that theory. However, I didn't predict results of this magnitude, nor the speed at which they would occur."

So the testing withdrawal _was_ real. Suddenly, Chell decided she had even more reason to dislike the people behind Aperture's greatest success and ultimate demise. They had taken every measure to ensure GLaDOS against any form of free will.

"What—what's it doing to you?" she asked quietly, feeling a small sting of shame for her own kind. "Can you _really_ feel pain?"

The AI's optic wandered up to meet her eyes. Chell almost wanted to recoil from the intensity of that glare, the deep-seated pain and anger in it burning right through her.

"Don't be stupid," GLaDOS scolded with an involuntary twitch. "If they could give us the ability to feel a pleasant sensation of encouragement for doing what they wanted us to do, why wouldn't we be able to feel pain?"

She stopped for a moment, a steady sigh escaping her. It occurred to Chell that the "us" GLaDOS spoke of included Wheatley, who had also inhabited the same system for a short time.

"When the moron tried to give out answers like the idiot that he is, he received a short burst of pain as punishment for violating the rules," she went on. "Except the effects of this withdrawal are far more severe. I suppose it was put in place early on, as a safeguard for if I refused to test for some reason. What a _ridiculous_—"

Her statement ended in a sharp, anguishing cry. Chell held on to her tighter as electric convulsions racked the frame of her body, the panels in the room going wild for a moment as their controller lost her stability. The seizure lasted less than thirty seconds, but that brief time dragged on and on for the two of them.

The woman patted her comfortingly, not only for GLaDOS's benefit but also for her own. She knew somewhere in her mind that she should be happy, that she should feel a small victory at the fact that the AI was feeling the same sensation that _she_ had tortured _her_ with for so long.

But it didn't feel good at all. Just like it hadn't felt so great when she and Wheatley had torn her from her body; that horrible, dying scream of agony that filled the entire facility. The fact of the matter that Chell knew she had to admit, was that GLaDOS didn't deserve this anymore.

Cradling her head close, like a comforting mother, she began to hum the melody of the turrets' opera to her. Somehow, she had come to see the bizarre AI as a kind of friend, an older sister, and definitely an overbearing mother. They were the only remnants left from a lost era, one that was buried far under the ground. Maybe, in some strange way, that alone made them as good as kin to each other.

When Chell finished her humming, she noticed GLaDOS had still not said a word. It was chilling, to be honest. Normally nothing in the world could shut her up, and now she was so quiet, so listless. It didn't fit her, The Queen. And in this strange land of Aperture where friends and enemies changed with the wind, Chell found herself feeling rather like Alice fallen down the rabbit hole.

"What can I do to make this stop?"

The AI darted her gaze up to the human once again, her movement weak but still characteristically sharp and stubborn. They both knew that Chell had a way of cutting right to the chase and getting things done. No matter how impossible.

"It is hard-wired into this system, _permanently_. The only means of ending this is testing, and seeing as we do not have a test subject, that will not be happening any time soon," she sighed, still managing a begrudging tone of disgust that fit her much better than self-pity. "I've deployed Orange and Blue to sweep the area within a two hundred-kilometer radius of the facility. They will be gone for several days, unquestionably."

The former test subject quirked an eyebrow. "Well, you may have fired me, but I still qualify as a test subject as far as I know."

"_Absolutely not_." GLaDOS pulled back a fraction, some of her strength evidently returned. "I made it _very_ clear to you from day one that I didn't take you in for that purpose. It was_ charity_ and nothing more. Bring me any other human, _fine_, but I will _not_ have you testing again."

Chell smiled. "This is a weird thing for us to argue about, huh?"

Unrelenting, GLaDOS gave a small huff of discontentment. "I don't care what it is. You're not going to test, and that is _final_."

"Then I'll just go wander over and find a testing track for myself. I'm sure they're lying all over the place," she taunted back.

"_Actually_, the only tests currently configured are the much more difficult ones, intended for the testing units. If you're going to be an insistent nuisance, I can have a few simple tests assembled in a half an hour or so." The AI gave a brief sigh. "Usually that would take a matter of minutes, of course, but the withdrawal has struck a critical blow to my functionality."

By now, Chell had already made it to the door and off to the cooperative testing areas. Before she disappeared from the room, her voice came back, "You can thank me later, okay?"

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: I've had a rough week, my dog is currently very ill and may pass soon, so I ended up going a bit of an emotional route on this chapter. I'm not sure how much more I will have to go on this, possibly another chapter or two and an epilogue.

Please review, guys! I have SO many story alerts on this.

Also, thumbs up for MST3K reference!

Best wishes,

-FP


	7. Redeemed

x x x

"Just to be perfectly clear, this is _completely_ unnecessary. You _are_ aware of that, right?"

Chell rolled her eyes as she rode the lift down into the depths of the Enrichment Center, patiently keeping her silence. She really had to wonder why the AI was even bothering with her half-hearted attempts to talk her out of the mission she was currently embarking on.

"When have you ever managed to stop me from doing something this way?" she pointed out dryly, re-securing the portal gun that she had belted to the waist of her jumpsuit. After spending the rest of the night enduring several excruciating rounds of withdrawal convulsions, GLaDOS had begrudgingly granted her a pair of the devices for the purposes of testing on the courses that typically required the two bots to complete. "The more you say, the less persuasive you are."

A world-weary sigh echoed through the facility. "That may be true, considering that I _strongly_ doubt lunatics can be reasoned with. Still—I'm quite certain they _can_ be terminated." She paused for a moment, shifting to an even colder, detached tone. "I wonder, exactly what proportion of neurotoxin inside that elevator would provide a lethal dose?"

Out of trained instinct, the woman tightened her grip on the weapon in her hands. It took a few seconds and a lot of willpower for her to form an honest response. "What the hell are you _threatening_ me for? I'm trying to help you, in case that wasn't obvious enough."

"I didn't—" GLaDOS began quickly, her voice betraying a tinge of disorientation characteristic of her potato form. "—mean to take it out on you. But you must understand, there's a voice inside my head right now that is _screaming_ at me to test, and—I haven't felt the itch so strongly since…well, since they first activated me."

"Hey, just try to calm down, okay? I'm gonna fix that for you." Chell wasn't quite sure if she sounded as reassuring as she was trying to be. Hell, she hadn't even gotten a look at the courses she was going to attempt yet. They looked easy enough when she watched Blue and Orange do it, but doing it _herself_ was another thing altogether.

And now she had an emotionally compromised GLaDOS to deal with as well, albeit not in a potato this time. Between the itch and the withdrawal symptoms, Chell should have been a bit surprised that she hadn't gone off the deep end by now.

But the truth of the matter was, she already knew that Aperture's crowning achievement had a strength of spirit that could only be matched by her own legendary tenacity. Even if she was frightened and vulnerable, it would take more than that to break someone like GLaDOS.

A funny thing really, Chell thought. How fate could throw two perfectly similar people together like that. She wouldn't have ever believed it, way back when she was a little fourth grader bringing her science project to her father's work. It hadn't been long after that when he had resigned, the GLaDOS incident having been the final straw after a growing list of concerns. And yet much later, when money problems hit her as she struggled to afford college in her early twenties, the woman had wound up right back at Aperture, faintly remembering the promise of an easy sixty bucks for volunteer testing.

Maybe it wasn't just random chance, after all. Perhaps everything happened for a reason. Even if that reason remained a mystery.

The lift had halted at its destination by now, a test chamber faintly reminiscent of her early days of testing. Of course, much aging had transformed the Enrichment Center since then. She stepped out into the entryway, casting a sidelong glance at the right-hand wall that displayed the typical panel of white light that indicated warnings for the test ahead. Only a few of the icons on this one were lit up; buttons, hard light bridges, acid, aerial faith plates…

_This can't be too bad,_ Chell assured herself. _Better than being covered in flesh-eating gel substances._

As she proceeded into the testing area, the slightest of whimpers came over the announcement system. GLaDOS's trademark stoic front seemed to be slipping more and more as the psychological effects of the withdrawal settled in.

"I'm _really_ not kidding. You shouldn't be doing this. If another wave hits me while you're on a hard light surface, the power could surge and cut the supply in this room." The tone of her voice was urgent, in sharp contrast to her usual leisurely and condescending manner of speak. "If you should be above the acid when that happens—I don't imagine I need to explain the result of that, now, do I?"

Already surveying the room, Chell merely shrugged. "I guess that's just a risk I'm gonna have to take, huh?"

Inwardly, she had to admit it was a bit unusual to have someone so concerned about her welfare, much less GLaDOS of all people. How was it that she could manage to be worried about the not-so-former test subject's safety, while the insatiable urge to test had taken the forefront of her mind?

It was at that moment that something dawned on her. Should something befall the two testing bots out there in the unknown world, GLaDOS would be permanently without viable test subjects. She would continue to exist eternally in a state of constant, painful need. Having dealt with GLaDOS's sleight of hand tricks before, Chell had a feeling that the AI had known she was taking a major gamble in sending her prized subjects away. It had been a sacrifice GLaDOS made, of her own safety and sanity, in order…_to help her._

She had known about all of this. The withdrawal. The risks.

And she had done it anyway.

That was it. She was going to have to do whatever she could to make this easier on Aperture's ruler. If she hadn't been resolute on that before, she certainly was now.

With this in mind, she immersed herself in the details of the test before her. To her left, she made note of a hard light bridge emerging from its source, a few feet forward into a portal-conducting surface. A similar white surface was situated directly above the light bridge, running parallel with it. To the right, a pit that dropped into, as she could have guessed, acid.

Easy enough. The woman aimed her portal at the wall where the bridge ended, capturing its beam and sending it across the chasm with the second placed on the overhead wall. She walked through the first portal and came out high above the ground, following the bridge across the acid pit until she reached the solid surface on the opposite side.

As Chell hopped down to the floor below, the room began to shudder violently. A hiss of pain, and the lights flickered, cut out for a few moments, and buzzed to life once again. Chell glanced nervously back at the acid that she had been precariously perched above mere moments before.

"Please…_please_ make it stop." Her voice was weak, frantic, even a bit defeated. It sounded like a plea directed to no one in particular. "_Why_ would they do this to me? I shouldn't—I…I never…"

"Shh," Chell quickly hushed her, sweeping her eyes back to the puzzle at hand. She had to get this done, fast. "We'll sing something, okay? You like singing. That was what you told me, remember?"

She was talking to her like a child, but GLaDOS didn't seem to have a nasty retort at the ready. So the woman shuffled back through her memory…did she remember any songs? There was _one_, that she remembered her mother singing sometimes. How did it go again?

"_Amazing Grace…how sweet the sound, that saved a wretch like me_," she began gently, shifting her light-bridge portal to a wall on the left. It created a portal that ran horizontally across the second acid pit in front of her, into another portal-conducting wall. "_I once was lost, but now am found, was blind, but now I see…_"

She made her way rapidly down the light bridge, meeting with another portal-wall to the right above her head. This seemed to be where the second portal gun came into play. She unholstered it, in one quick move using it to capture the end of the light bridge and direct it to the right-hand wall.

As she walked through it, she was relieved to find it led to a short jump that landed her right in front of the door. To the next test?

The door opened on another room. Chell released a sigh. Nope. That was just the first half of the test.

"_T'was Grace that taught my heart to fear, and Grace my fears relieved._" Still weak, but the voice that came back carried the sweet melodic sound that so contrasted GLaDOS's typical cold persona. It rose and fell with the passion of any human singer. "_How precious did that Grace appear, the hour I first believed…_"

A small smile tugged at the human's expression as she surveyed the test, mostly moving on gut instinct and her own familiarity with the AI's way of organizing her tests. Light bridge, faith plate, and a raised area containing a button receptacle and the exit.

She captured the source of light, using it to direct a bridge underneath an emancipation grill directly above the faith plate. Her head hit the bridge with an unpleasant bump, but she maintained enough sense to shoot the bridge beneath her on the way down. Creeping groggily though the portal, she emerged onto the original light bridge platform, right at its source.

How did the rest of that song go again?

"_Through many dangers, toils and snares, I have already come,_" she sang, directing a portal through the bridge beneath her such that walking though would lead her to the button. "_'Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far…_"

The cube—well, _sphere_, dropped to the floor beside the faith plate. With a hop to the ground, Chell portaled the bridge back under the grill. Hefting the ball under one arm, she hooked the first gun back into the fastener at her waist and drew the second one. Almost finished. All that was left was to capture the light from the end of the bridge that ran under the grill, and jump onto the plate, and…

Another head-bump later, she shot the bridge just beneath her as she came falling back to earth, neatly walking across it to the ledge containing the button receptacle and exit. She dropped the sphere into its corresponding slot, and the humming sigh of contentment that filled the room nearly shorted out the power yet another time.

"…_and Grace will lead me home_," a relieved voice finished softly.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: This one was a little harder to manage, because school is already getting intense for me (I suck at math) but here it is anyway! Thank you all for your kind reviews, and the alerts and faves are great too, glad to see people reading. And most of all, thank you for the well-wishes for my dog. She is still alive (...yes) for the time being, I'm unsure in the long run if she will improve, but she is playful and going for walks again. It's an unfortunate reality for German Shepherds that they are vulnerable to spine, hip, and heart conditions. For her it ended up being a heart condition.

While I hate to explain my writing, I will say music is an intentional motif in this story. And the songs themselves are indeed meant to be symbolic/metaphorical with regards to the characters here. So, hopefully that doesn't go sailing over everyone's heads, like an eagle piloting a blimp.

(Just me, or do people here have a problem with portraying GLaDOS as she actually IS? They sure love to make her the villain for the sake of forcing Chelley to happen, in all its unlikeliness, but we're talking about someone who arranges turret operas, mothers baby birds, and fondly calls her robots marshmallows while worrying for their welfare. A softer portrayal of her is supported in canon. I'm not calling anyone wrong, per se, but GLaDOS is no cut-and-dry sociopath by the end of Portal 2. Even after her DLC "I accidentally all the human subjects" incident.)

Best wishes,

-FP


	8. Discovery

x x x

Taking in another long sip of water, Chell reclined flat onto her back on the welcoming surface of her cot. She hadn't noticed it until after she was heading out of the testing chambers, but she had completely drenched herself in sweat from the rigorous activity of test-solving. It had been at least two or three weeks since she had last done that amount of physical work.

As such, she had headed straight to the shower after the completion of the test. The fortunate convenience of a place as sealed-in as Aperture was that many of the employee residential suites had remained relatively intact, and it was in one of these rooms that she had been staying since her return a few weeks ago.

GLaDOS had been rather amused when the human snappily insisted to her that she not monitor her while she was showering. This invoked a snide remark about human anatomy being something she had seen more than enough of for the entire span of her immortal life, but Chell was fairly sure that the AI acquiesced to her request all the same.

After draining the canteen of its contents, she tossed it carelessly to the side where it landed on the old wooden end table at her bedside. A feeling of great relief had come over her since finishing that test. GLaDOS sounded noticeably more at ease, and had assured her that the fix would last at least another twelve hours or so. That gave her some time to rest.

Just as she ripped open one of the food packets resting by her side, the intercom blipped to life. The familiar voice that came over the speakers sounded almost _cheerful_. "[Subject name here], I have some news that you will find _very_ exciting. Blue and Orange have discovered what appears to be a moderately-sized human establishment approximately sixty kilometers due north of our current location."

The former test subject dropped the package of food, at once scrambling into a sitting position. "_What?_"

"It's exactly as it sounds," GLaDOS replied, the cheerfulness already waning into a more dry tone. "There seems to be anywhere from two hundred to five hundred humans located there. While I am still unsure of what has transpired on the planet in the time I was inactive, these humans are not mutated or irradiated, judging from the visual data that the testing units have transmitted to me. It's a very good indication that you may be able to live a fruitful life with them."

Chell felt a tight, constricting sensation take hold in her chest. She could barely think straight enough to form her next question. "Do you have any pictures of what it looks like? Can I see?"

Almost as though her question had been anticipated, the Aperture-brand monitor stationed in her room flickered from the typical DOS text display to a slightly-grainy picture. The place appeared to be similar to your average Midwestern-style town, though with some noticeable garbage and debris scattered about. The people in the image did indeed look normal and healthy, if a bit rough around the edges.

"When Blue and Orange return, we can discuss having them escort you to the location." With this comment, GLaDOS seemed to take on a more forlorn tone. "You should be able to handle the journey just fine, with your health in optimal condition and supplied with sufficient provisions. I can look into providing some kind of weapon as well, if you feel you may need it."

Only half-listening, Chell shook her head despondently. As excited as she was, the prospect of returning to humanity had been a considerable fear on her ever since GLaDOS had initially proposed it. Upon first leaving, she was convinced it would be wonderful to see humans again, but by this time she had almost started to feel safer and more at home inside of Aperture.

The AI picked up on her sentiments as quickly as she had conveyed them. "You aren't second-guessing your decision to leave, are you?" she asked, though it wasn't exactly in a sarcastic or mocking fashion.

"That's not it," Chell sighed, one hand wandering up to massage her forehead. "I just don't know what to do with myself when I do go up there. I'll have to start all over. I mean, I barely even remember some of the details of my life before all of this Aperture stuff."

GLaDOS remained silent for a few moments, as though she were genuinely contemplating how to answer. Usually it seemed that she had no verbal filter whatsoever.

"Listen carefully," she began, her words slow and deliberate. "You aren't the only one who was dealt a troubling hand in these past few weeks."

She paused, somewhat hesitant to go on. When she realized no one was going to interrupt her, she continued.

"When we were down in the oldest reaches of the facility, I didn't let you in on my thoughts at the time. That's because I didn't understand what was going on," she added, some venom creeping into her tone. "Memories that weren't mine kept popping up. And when we heard the late Mr. Johnson rambling about stuffing his assistant in a computer, I didn't want to believe that person could be me."

Chell frowned, her dilemma somewhat dropping off from her thoughts as she became interested in the AI's own problem. "So what did you do about it? How did you figure out what happened?"

"Research, mostly," GLaDOS returned coldly, the emotion in her tone that of guarded disdain. "I found all of the data and reports done by every scientist, engineer, physician, and all other manner of persons involved. The fact of the matter was that Caroline was not supposed to die in the process of creating me."

She chuckled softly as she noticed Chell raising an eyebrow. "You see, by the time Mr. Johnson passed, the team responsible for creating me had indeed devised a way to engineer an artificial intelligence such as myself. It involved sectioning the frontal lobe of a human—any human with a normally-functioning brain, really. They wanted their AI to be capable of responding in what they deemed a sufficiently human fashion. The frontal lobe of the brain encompasses all of that; organization, problem solving, emotion, personality…"

"And so this is where Caroline's role in your creation started, right?" the woman asked, folding her hands over her stomach.

"Precisely," the AI responded. "However, Aperture's staff did not want to perform a procedure on Caroline that would kill her. They were very fond of her, after all; many had worked under her for years. Their goal was to find a non-destructive method of mapping out the relevant portions of her mind. With this, they could develop an AI with a similar demeanor, and allow Caroline to retire in peace."

"But something must have gone wrong, I'm guessing?"

"Indeed it did." GLaDOS's voice had dropped a bit, a note of uncharacteristic sadness evident there. "As I told you when you first awoke here, the procedure went wrong. Caroline was an elderly woman by that time, and the surgery proved to be dangerous and unpredictable. It occurred nearly halfway through the process, so certain memories and personality traits were ultimately omitted. Much of what, I suppose, was intended to give me 'humanlike' behavior patterns, so to speak."

"Well. That's a lot to take in," Chell remarked, giving her head a small shake. "I guess that could explain why you've got such an, erm…_interesting_ personality."

"I always thought conflicts of individuality and identity were something only humans would indulge in." GLaDOS sighed, her voice betraying a substantial amount of grudge. "But the whole ordeal made me question who _I_ was. How could I possibly be someone else? If one is based on another, are they then still an individual?"

The human shrugged. "I'm not a philosopher or anything, but I think you're always an individual, so long as you have your own thoughts and experiences and all that. Just because you've got some of another person's personality in you doesn't make you less of your own person. Lots of people have similar personalities, after all."

"I suppose," GLaDOS muttered. "But I still won't forgive them for the way they treated me _after_ I was put online. What would the point be of creating something to think like a human, only to treat them like an animal?"

Chell rolled her eyes, a tiny bit of a smile beginning to form. "You killed them all. I'm pretty sure that means you got the last word on the matter, all things considered."

"True enough. The Being Alive club took a large dive in membership after that incident," the AI sneered, the range of emotion behind her attitude magnified by the booming volume of the announcement system. "Still, the past cannot be altered. The best one can do is learn from it. I, for one, learned exactly how long it takes for a human to suffer the fatal effects of neurotoxin."

"If you ask me, I think you could use some work on the whole 'learning from the past' thing," Chell snickered, now making a second attempt at eating her meal. "You're the kind of person who runs into the same dumb mistake three and four times before even _considering_ doing something different."

A snort of disagreement echoed through the Enrichment Center. "I haven't tried to kill you again, have I? Lesson well learned. Moving on."

The woman laughed at this one, never ceasing to be amused by GLaDOS's generally immature approach to life. Sometimes it just flat-out amazed her that she could have possibly figured out how to get on with such a temperamental personality.

"In any case, I recommend that you try to catch some sleep in the meantime. You're going to need to get a sufficient amount of rest if you intend to help me with any more testing. In short, that means no more talking because _I'm not listening_." She said this last part in a sing-song type of voice, like the one that would accompany a 'la la la la I can't hear you' retort.

Setting her empty food packets on the table beside her, Chell curled up on her side with a sigh. She would really enjoy a nice nap after that little excursion; more so because of how stressed out and worried she had been rather than the actual physical activity.

It wasn't until she had almost nodded off that she realized that in the course of listening to GLaDOS's problems, she had completely forgotten about her own.

* * *

><p><strong>A****N**: And so, here is another chapter. Stuff is movin' along. I'm very busy with class lately, I literally have almost NO time between schoolwork, housework, and pet-related work. HINT: I update faster, however, the more you review.

To answer a reviewer's question, there isn't going to be any androids in this fic. I favor stories where GLaDOS isn't in an android body; I think she is most 'herself' when she is in her true body, the one she herself identifies as belonging to her. Being in control all the time is part of who she is. So, that's how I like to write her.

Anyway, thank you to everyone who is reading, reviewing, alerting, and the like. :) I believe there will be one more chapter, and an epilogue.

Best wishes,

-FP


	9. Farewell

x x x

For the first time since her journey through the wheat field, Chell was dreaming.

The images she saw appeared grainy and aged, like everything else about Aperture, and she couldn't find herself exactly surprised. Her world had been dingy and gray for so long that it seemed to have become a way of life. A world like an old slideshow, spotted in places and frayed at the edges.

Many of the scenes were familiar, though not in any particular order. She saw her bloodied body on the ground of the Central AI Chamber, the bright full moon peeking through the open panels of the ceiling. Turrets, squeaking in simulated (or was it?) pain as they were committed to the fire of redemption. And then she saw _her_, shrouded in toxic green vapors, the cold glow of her optic cutting a single stream of light into the smoky room.

Then, the glimpses began to change, the color and sound rapidly transforming and rearranging. A middle-aged man sat at his desk, barking orders into a microphone between coughing fits. At his side stood a woman who appeared several years his junior, beautiful brown hair falling past her shoulders, but her attractive features obscured by a hint of sadness in her expression.

As the colors melted away again, Chell found herself back in the Central AI Chamber, looking upon a GLaDOS who was in her original pristine condition. The same woman from before, though grayed and wrinkled, had a hand placed on the colossal machine's head as it stared back at her with uncertainty. Neither of the two said a word, and yet, the tension suggested that they shared something in common.

For a brief moment, through the haze of the dream-state, Chell supposed she was viewing an alternate timeline, a would-have-been that did not exist in this dimension.

The bottom dropped out, and now she was racing down a catwalk in the cavernous belly of the Enrichment Center. Wheatley's incessant voice, practically a continuous stream of meaningless jabber, urged her on through the labyrinth of walkways and passages. First a lab rat, now a rat in a maze.

She went through a doorway and emerged in old Aperture, alone once again. Or perhaps not alone, as a soft voice was singing a heartfelt song that bounced off the walls of the enormous underground facility. The woman didn't understand the words—Latin, maybe?—and could only follow it by sound to its source. A potato, lodged miserably in a bird's nest.

It wasn't until a high-pitched ring filled her ears that she actually even realized she had been dreaming. Chell sat bolt upright in her bed, hands going at once to block out the sound. The ringing stopped, and she gradually removed her hands from her ears.

"Two hundred years of sleeping," GLaDOS drawled over the speakers. "I suppose you're so good at it by now, it's practically impossible to wake _you_ up." A moment's pause, and was that a _chuckle_? "Now that you're awake, however…I'd suggest reporting to my chamber immediately."

x x x

Walking through the doors of the Central AI Chamber as if it were any other visit, Chell already knew what was coming today. Once she spotted the two bots standing beside their superior, her suspicions were merely confirmed.

The AI herself had positioned her frame at a rather awkward angle, as though she were uncomfortable in her own body. She seemed unwilling to look at the former test subject even as she strolled over to join them.

"Nice to see you guys in one piece," Chell smiled at the pair of testing units. "Didn't want to have to live with your gruesome deaths on my conscience," she added with a small wink.

"No, just _mine_," GLaDOS responded dryly, her optic finally wandering over to meet the human's gaze. "Fortunately, your conscience seems to remain unaffected. Surprise, surprise."

Chell's grin widened. "You betcha. Now, I'm guessing you called me in here because—"

"Because it's time for you to go." Her tone fell somewhere between snappy and troubled. Sometimes, or rather, most of the time, it was impossible to tell the difference between irritation, and, well…_any_ other emotion with GLaDOS.

A small sigh escaped the woman. She shifted her weight, suddenly feeling more doubtful than ever about leaving. "Yeah, I kinda guessed you were gonna say that. But I can stay longer, if you need me to, and—"

"You are _not_ staying here any longer," the AI interrupted her again, drawing forward a few inches. An assertion of dominance, as always. Even so, her voice grew a bit softer when she continued. "It isn't natural for a human to live underground in a laboratory for the entire duration of their life. You'll understand that once you take your place among other humans again. I have these two—you don't need to spend any more time here."

Without quite realizing it, Chell had aimed her eyes down at the ground. "It's probably still safer here though, right? I mean, I do kind of like…your company…and stuff…"

"Do I need to re-explain Stockholm syndrome to you?" A growing level of aggravation had taken root in her tone, and her posture seemed to suggest a similar sentiment. "You. Need. To leave. The longer you stay, the less—"

"—you want me to leave?"

The AI jerked her gaze back over to her former test subject. She seemed bewildered that it was her sentence that had been finished this time. Though perhaps not the way she had wanted to word it—that would have been _way_ too honest for her taste.

"Perhaps you could put it that way," she admitted quietly, the annoyance slightly easing off. "But as I already said, you are _much_ better off up there. I already told you that you're welcome to visit, if doing so would make you happy. So would you _please_, this _one_ time, trust my discretion?"

Several moments of silence followed. The bots glanced at each other nervously, though they didn't entirely understand what was going on between the two former enemies. At long last, Chell finally began to nod.

"Okay. I'll do it."

"Thank goodness you chose this time to actually be reasonable," GLaDOS sighed, shaking her head in thinly-veiled disgust. "Now, these two marshmallows next to me have been equipped with the necessary supplies to make the trip. It shouldn't take you longer than a day and a half to reach your destination. Granted, that will mean about a day or so of withdrawal for me, but I'd feel much more comfortable sending you with both of them. Just in case you decide to collapse or do some other thing that proves how much better I am than you."

Chell could only blink in response to that. It wasn't really surprising at this point for GLaDOS to add an "I hate you" type of comment when in reality she was willing to undergo considerable pain for her human friend's benefit.

"So, in conclusion. Get going. The elevator in the corner of the room will take you to the surface, just like before."

She had turned herself away again, looking off to the other side of the room as if it were intensely fascinating. Unintentionally, the human winced. Somehow it felt a lot harder to see someone like GLaDOS in a state of emotional turmoil than it would any other person. She went so far out of her way to be unaffected and aloof that it seemed like a huge honor to be causing her digital heart such grief.

Well, she didn't expect a warm response, but there was one last thing she was going to do before she would be willing to leave.

Very quietly, Chell made her way across the room to where the AI was suspended. Before any protesting could be made, she threw her arms around the enormous computer—as best she could, anyway, given their relative sizes. Rather than any irate whining, GLaDOS merely stood resolute, though she did allow herself a small sigh of disgust.

Or, maybe it wasn't disgust. As soon as Chell had disengaged herself, she got a slight affectionate nuzzling nudge in return. The same half-hearted show of fondness one would receive from a cat, were the cat in fact a gigantic machine capable of ruthless murder. A tiger almost fit that description.

Turning to face the robots that would be leading her off, Chell noticed that _they_ were hugging each other too. The minute GLaDOS caught them, she immediately reverted back to angry tyrant.

"_Enough_ of that! I told you _never_ to do that, didn't I?"

Though Chell couldn't help but laugh at the whole scene, she decided it was best not to say goodbye. Much too formal, and God willing, she would be back soon.

And _that_ was not a lie.

x x x

As the elevator carried the three of them up, _there_ was that voice again. The same soft, melodious sound she had first awoken to here filled the facility.

_Time to say goodbye…  
>Paesi che non ho mai<br>veduto e vissuto con te,  
>adesso si li vivrò...<em>

A smile tugged at her lips. Classic GLaDOS, being so overdramatic about everything, as usual.

_Con te partirò  
>su navi per mari<br>che, io lo so,  
>no, no, non esistono più,<br>it's time to say goodbye..._

But she still had to wipe the tears out of her eyes, biting her lip in embarrassment, as the two bots led her into the outside world.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**: Stay tuned for the epilogue! And all you lurkers and stealth-readers, now's your chance to tell me how you liked it.

Oh, and, the song is "Time to Say Goodbye" which is sung by Sarah Brightman and some guy.

Best wishes,

-FP


	10. Epilogue

x x x

All lined up in a row, her treasures were spread out on the floor like a museum display.

"I found this near the shore of the lake," Chell explained with much suspense, as though telling some sort of fish story. "I don't know what it is, of course. But it reminded me of a turquoise necklace my mom used to have."

Whistling with interest, Orange leaned in closer to observe the bluish-green stone in the human's hand. Blue had already absorbed himself in examining the colorful collection of wildflowers, something Chell seemed to be quite proud of.

"You're _that_ interested in a rock?"

Disgusted tone at the ready, GLaDOS had her gaze wandering over the rocks and plants that littered the metal ground in front of her. The former test subject thought she might be imagining it, but her annoyance didn't seem quite as genuine anymore.

"Everything in nature is interesting," she confidently replied. "What kind of scientist are you that you don't care about observing nature?"

The AI responded with a sarcastic chuckle. "In case you've forgotten, I'm _already _a master of mineralogy. And botany. And zoology. And—"

"Yeah, okay. I get it." Chell had a hand pressed to her forehead, sighing. She held the blue rock up to GLaDOS's optic in a fairly snippy gesture. "So then what is—"

"Chrysocolla, a copper silicate mineral. Your specimen appears to contain traces of copper deposits, as well," she stated in her most matter-of-fact monotone. "Fairly common in Michigan's Upper Peninsula."

"Well, _I_ thought it was cool." Chell set the stone back down, moving on to examine a large green rock that happened to be one of her favorites. "Guess you're not as appreciative of rocks as me."

"Your _head_ is full of rocks," Aperture's ruler sniffed, her body straightening up with arrogance. Blue and Orange exchanged a look that seemed to indicate that they were familiar with these types of comments.

The woman had folded her arms in defiance of this claim. "That's not what the people in Copper Harbor think. The family I'm staying with says I should move south into the city and go to college when I get enough money saved up."

GLaDOS pulled herself back, clearly startled by the notion. "So, you're just going to abandon us like that? What a—_human_ thing to do."

The AI glared at her two cheerful robots, as though that would send them the message that they better be on her side, or else. They merely shrugged, going back to looking at Chell's collection of found objects.

Before her wrath could be taken out on the pair—likely via an explosion—the human shook her head. "No, that isn't gonna happen. I'll just have to save up for a car first." She bit her lip, seemingly a little worried about the matter. "It might take a while, all things considered."

"And what can you learn in a college that _I'm_ not already an expert in?" GLaDOS muttered, though her version of a mutter was quite loud and irate.

Chell covered her mouth, stifling an obvious laugh. "What, like you're going to educate me? I'd like to see you have the patience for that."

Across from her, the computer's glare didn't waiver. "Is that a _challenge_ I hear?"

"Actually, it is," the human answered through a growing smile. "And I don't really believe you're up to it."

In one quick pop, Blue and Orange exploded in a burst of sparks and metal. _Someone's_ temper was showing. Either that, or blowing up her test subjects was GLaDOS's version of a 'game face.'

"We'll just have to see about that, then, won't we?"

Chell supposed she must be as crazy as the AI by this point. Because now they were entering into yet another battle with each other…

And she was actually looking forward to it.

* * *

><p><strong>Final AN**: Just a little short thing for your post-fic enjoyment. Hope you've enjoyed reading this as much as I've enjoyed writing it! And yeah, that ending MIGHT be sequel bait. Still, please review, and leave your thoughts! I have some footnotes to add, concerning my portrayal of the characters, that I would like you to read and comment on with regards to the fic, and how you felt about it.

*GLaDOS: Yes, I did not make her all-out evil. I feel by the end of Portal 2 that she has grown a lot, and that much of her sociopathy was due to just being a rather immature, superintelligent being with the life experience of a child. I think she has a potentially warm side to her personality, though it's one she loathes to show, and that she's pretty stealthy as far as revealing her true feelings. And of course, she still has to have the mind games going, even when it's more harmless. As for Caroline, I am standing by my opinion that they are not one single consciousness, nor that Caroline "became" GLaDOS. Through my own knowledge of the human brain and how it relates to computers, I do not believe you "transfer" a consciousness. You can only copy traits of that mind. You cannot move someone's organic "soul" so to speak into a computer. I even wrote to Erik Wolpaw concerning this once...yes, he's the writer of Portal. When he got back to me, I think he basically was telling me that it's open to interpretation-probably because he himself has said in interviews that he doesn't know how the GLaDOS-making process would even happen. :P

*Chell: Not mute! I'm so sorry! I know in canon she's silent, but I have read that the writers/people involved say that it's because she doesn't feel like answering to a bitch like GLaDOS. So, I think she can talk. And I like to imagine that she might reflect some of GLaDOS's bitchy sarcasm back at her after putting up with it for so long.

*Blue&Orange: Yeah I didn't call them by their names in this since GLaDOS never does, and thus Chell wouldn't know their 'real' names. They're fun to write. Cute is all I can say.

*Wheatley: Again, sorry. I don't see him coming back any time soon. And fics that deal with him doing so are VERY plentiful and cliched by this point. Plus I just can't write that kind of personality.

Anyway, thanks again for your time and loyal readership!

Best wishes,

-FP


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